Zimbabwe warmed up for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier in perfect fashion with a dominant nine-wicket victory over Kenya at Harare Sports Club on Monday morning. A disciplined bowling display set the tone before the batters sealed the win with almost eight overs to spare.
Put in to bat first, Kenya struggled from the outset. Richard Ngarava struck with just the second ball of the innings, removing Dhiren Gondaria for a duck, well taken by wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor. Brad Evans then took centre stage with a superb spell, dismissing Sachin Bhudia (11) and Pushkar Sharma (10) in quick succession, leaving the visitors reeling at 28 for three.
Brief resistance came from Sukhdeep Singh (14) and Rakep Patel, the latter top scoring with 24 off 25 balls, but Evans returned to remove Patel as Kenya’s innings unravelled. Evans finished with impressive figures of 3 for 26, well supported by Ngarava (2 for 19) and Blessing Muzarabani, who was miserly with one for just six runs in his four overs. Kenya eventually limped to 96 for eight in their 20 overs.
Zimbabwe’s reply was swift and ruthless. Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani put on 31 inside four overs before Marumani fell for 14. Bennett continued to impress with a fluent 33 off 25 balls, striking six boundaries before retiring with the score on 72. From there, Sean Williams (21* off 13) and Taylor (20* off 21) comfortably guided the hosts home, reaching 100 for one in just 12.1 overs.
The Chevrons’ emphatic victory highlights both their bowling firepower and batting depth ahead of the qualifiers, sending a clear message of intent to their continental rivals.
